About Play Comics
Play Comics is a podcast focusing on video games based on comics and how well those games represent the source material. Instead of the show focusing on if a game is good or not, the show instead focuses on if the game is a good introduction to the comic.
Regular episodes of Play Comics focus on games that had a US release on a home or handheld console, so games that were only on computers or phones or arcades aren’t going to be covered here. It doesn’t matter if the comic was well known in the US or not, as long as the comic existed first (or in a few special cases if the comic came out really early in the history of the franchise) in one form or another. Regular episodes are released Sundays at 2 am Eastern. The first episode was released January 2, 2017.
Bonus episodes sometimes take the place of a regular episode, and sometimes are released on another day. They mostly focus on talking to creators about the cool things they’re working on, but any topic is really fair game. The first bonus episode was released on June 14th, 2018.
Overall Episodes: 294
Regular Episodes: 174
Bonus Episodes: 122
Creator Talk: 96
About the Host
Chris Osborne spent his childhood learning about comic characters from cartoons and video games, but never actually reading the comics themselves. His favorite character growing up was Spider-Man. These days his favorites are Hulk, Ghost-Spider, and Jessica Cruz. He’s also gotten really into more indie comics. The earliest comics he can remember having were a Darkwing Duck trade and an issue of Jurassic Park that his mom blacked out some of the bad words in.
Chris’s earliest gaming memory is getting an original Game Boy for Christmas and spending hours playing The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. Later he got a Sega Genesis and Sony Playstation. Currently Chris has an NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube, Wii, WiiU, Switch, Sega Master System, Genesis, SegaCD, Saturn, Dreamcast, TurboGrafx-16 (console only because why not), PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4, Xbox, and Xbox 360 as well as a Game Gear and various models from the Game Boy, DS, and PSP product lines.
The best way to reach Chris is via email (chris[at]playcomics[dot]com) or Twitter (@playcomicscast). You can also use the contact page on the website.
Audio Promos
Audio promos are available for use in podcasts, videos, and other places where an audio promo may be used. Permission and/or notification that you’re using the audio promo are not required but are always appreciated.
Logos and Artwork
The following are general logos for Play Comics. Please download the images and host them somewhere rather than hot linking the images here. The same applies to individual episode art which can be found in the regular episode cover gallery and bonus episode cover gallery.
Current Logos
Special Occasion Logos
Classic Logos
Prominent Guests
The following guests are especially notable (each slide is a link to their appearances on the show), but you can also check out a full list of past guests.
Rye Hickman (previously published as Jen Hickman) (RyeHickman.com) is an artist who has worked on titles such as Lonely Receiver, TEST, Moth & Whisper, and Jem and the Holograms.
Scott Niswander (NerdSync) runs the NerdSync channel on YouTube and is the editor for the Super Carlin Brothers channel on YouTube.
Jimmy Palmiotti (Paper Films) has worked as both a writer and artist for many publishers including Marvel, DC, AfterShock, Image, Dark Horse, and IDW (among others) and worked on various television series and video games.
Andrew Reiner (Game Informer, The Spectacular Comic Book Podcast) is the Editor in Chief at the gaming magazine Game Informer.
Chris Sims (The ISB, War Rocket Ajax, Movie Fighters, Apocrypals, Sailor Business, Xena Warrior Business) has written comics for Marvel and Oni press (among others) and was a prominent voice on the old Comics Alliance.
Miles Stokes (Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men) is a voice on the team behind the critically acclaimed X-Men podcast Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men.
Zac Thompson (The Voice in Your Head Is Mine) has written comics published by Marvel, AfterShock, Black Mask, Boom Studios, and Vault.
Testimonials
Chris Osborne is a consummate professional who loves comics and games, so much so that he asks the right people the right questions.
- Patrick Hickey Jr (Legacy Comix Editor-in-Chief & Co-Founder, Review Fix)
Comics is a game of trial and error. Some people are great, some people are so-so. But you've got to find the good ones and go for it. That's why we chose Play Comics to be the first podcast we were on, because [Chris Osborne is] one of the good ones.
- Steve Urena (Comic Writer)
Equipment Used
- ATR-2100
- Behringer UMC404HD
- Zoom H4N Pro for a local recording
- Ennuicastr for online recording/VOIP with guests
- Tracktion T7 DAW
- AKAI MPK Mini Play
- AKAI MPD18
- Open Broadcaster Software (OBS)
- Davinci Resolve
Listener Stats and Sponsorship Opportunities
Listener statistics/demographics/etc are available upon request. As of January 2020 sponsorship opportunities are handled on a case by case basis.